Where you put yourself in your business can have a great impact on how you feel about your business and ultimately your results especially if you are you putting others’ needs ahead of your own.
Do you put yourself first or last?
On an airplane, they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first – that way you’ll be able to help others. The same is in business. If you are not looking after yourself well, how would you be able to take care of other people in your business?
Here are the two most common example of areas where business owners do not put themselves first and eventually impacts themselves and their businesses in the long run:
Firstly, when are you paying yourself? Are you paying yourself first, or are you paying yourself last? Do you pay yourself after paying all your overheads such as your mortgage, staff salaries, suppliers and everything else? Get in a habit of paying yourself first even if it is a small amount. What matters most is the habit of paying yourself first. This is because if you are getting paid, you will feel rewarded for the efforts that you have been putting in.
Secondly, how are you managing deadlines? When customers demand for an early (and sometimes, unrealistic) turnaround time, you may end up dropping everything else and working ridiculous hours just to fulfil their request. Business will no longer be fun as you begin to lose control of it. Start putting yourself first rather than jumping at the whim of every request from every customer.
This can be as simple as saying “hang on, I can do that for you, customer, next Wednesday or next week”. The customer is often just wanting certainty on when something is happening rather than the deadline itself,
The key here is to look at your business, and ask yourself where are you putting yourself in your business. Are you putting yourself first? Are you putting yourself last? Whatever it is, it will actually be impacting your business, impacting how you feel about it and ultimately impacting your success.
